Electric-current converter.



A. T. KASLEY.

ELECTRIC CURRENT CONVERTER.

APPLICATION FILED OUT. 12, 1905.

1, 112,91 3. Patented 001;. 6, 1914.

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WITNESSES w v a a MWDL 8. KW.

/Wc' BY k H fs ORNEY IN FACT.

A. T. KASLEY. ELECTRIC CURRENT CONVERTER. APPLIOATION FILED 00112, 1905.

Patented Oct. 6, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

A. T. KASLEY.

ELECTRIC CURRENT CONVERTER.

APPLICATION FILED 0GT.12. 1905.

1,1 12,913. Patented Oct. 6, 1914.

3 SHEETSSHEBT 3.

INVENTOR.

WlTNEyK iv ALEXANDER T. KASLEY, OF SWISSVALE, PENNSYLVANIA.

ELECTRIC-CURRENT CONVERTER.

Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed October 12. 1905.

Patented Oct. 6, 1914. Serial No. 232,421.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ALEXANDER T. ILxs- LEY, acitizen of the United States, and a resident of Swissvale, in the countyof Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Electric-Current Converters, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to electrical current converting apparatus, andan object has been the production of a simple apparatus wherebyalternating current may be converted into direct current, or direct intoalternating.

In carrying out this invention. which was primarily intended asarectifier for converting alternating into direct current, I havediscovered that apparatus embodying the same may be used for convertingdirect current into alternating. I have also discovered that theinterrupter utilized in the apparatus, which in itself is novel, may beutilized as a most efficient circuit breaker or current interrupter, aswith it the evil effects which result from the arcs formed when thecircuit is broken, are overcome.

For the sake of illustration, I have selected a simple form and haveshown that in a more or less diagrammatic manner so far as the wiring isconcerned.

In the drawings, which illustrate a device for converting alternatinginto direct current, Figure 1 is a view showing the device inlongitudinal section with the wiring diagram included, and Fig. 2 is aview in crosssection of the device. Fig. 3 is a sectional view of anapparatus embodying a modification of my invention. Fig. 4 is a transverse section of the apparatus shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a sectionalelevation of an embodiment of my invention adapted to be utilized as acircuit breaker, and Fig. 6 is a transverse section of Fig. 5.

The device illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 consists of a casing 3 carriedon a shaft 4 which is journaled within and overhangs a bearing 5. Thecasing is provided with a cylindrical chamber 6, concentric with shaft4, which contains abody of mercury 7 or some fusible metal which willform a suitable liquid conductor. The outer periphery of casing 3 isformed in the nature of a twopart commutator comprising bars 8 and 9;bar 8 is in contact with the body of mercury, and bar 9 is insulatedtherefrom through in sulating material 10. Suitable brushes 11 and 12are arranged to bear on this commutator at diametrically oppositepoints.

A shaft 13, journaled within a bearing 14, is set at an angle to theshaft 4 and is pro vided with two contact arms 15 and 16 situated withinthe chamber 6 of casing 3. Through a suitable flexible driving member,such as 17, shaft 13 is adapted to be rotated as the casing 3 isrotated. The flexible dnivmg member 17 may be a. metallic diaphragm, orrubber or leather diaphragm. When a is used it serves as a means forclosing the open end of the casing, thus preventing the mercury vaporwhich forms therein from escaping. It has been found by trial that ifthe diaphragm be made of material similar to cloth-inserted rubber orcorrugated metal which is easily bent but not easily stretched, then thediaphragm drives the shaft properly. Between the endcap 18 of thecasing, to which the diaphragm or driving means for shaft 13 isconnected, and the casing proper, an insulating member 19 is interposed,and it is desirable that this member 19 shall be a heat insulator aswell as an electrical insulator. 20 is carried by shaft 4 and a brush 21bears thereagainst. A slip-ring 22 is carried by shaft 13 and a brush 23is provided therefor.

Brushes 11 and 12 are connected with a source of alternating currentthrough leads 24 and 25 respectively. When the apparatus is in operationand the casing is rotated, the body of mercury will take the form of anannulus, as shown in the drawings, and will be held against thecylindrical wall of chamber 6 by centrifugal force. In operation, thecontact arms 15 and 16, carried by shaft 13, alternately move in and outof contact with the mercury annulus.

A distributor lead 26, delivering direct current, connects withslip-ring 20 through its brush 21. Slip-ring 20 is in electrical contactwith bar 9 of the commutator through a conductor 27, which is shown as awire. livering direct current connects with slipring 22 through brush23, and a tr sf I or choke-coil 29, having two parallel windlugs 30 and31 of an equal number of turns, is placed as illustrated in Fig. 1.

,- In the position illustrated in the drawings the current enters bywire 24 through brush 11, through the commutator the mercury and out thewire bar 8, through 28. When the A slip-ring I I rent is started in ,31,coil 30, brush 23,

. arm 16 passing out of current is reversed it enters by wire 25, brush12, and the commutator bar 8, which will then be under brush 12, andthrough the mercu out through wire 28 as before.

The shaft 13 is so arranged that the circuit between the wires 2a and 28is broken by the arm 15 or 16 leaving the mercury in the chamber 6 atthe time of zero, or practically zero current, and the arms "are sopositioned on the shaft 13 relative to the commutator bars that thecircuit is always interrupted by one of the arms leaving the mercuryannulus prior to the time the brushes move from one to the nextcommutator bar; consequently there is no sparking at the brushes and thespark encountered at the chamber 6 will be insignificant, as the voltageat the time of the break is low. The transformer 29 is connected asshown to maintain the continuity of the current flowing in the wire 28.

I have employed the term continuity because there are certain classes ofdirect current apparatus, such as mercury arc lamps and metallic flamearc lamps in which the current can fall off to a low value withoutputting out the light, but if it is completely interrupted, the lightswill have to be rellghted. When the contact arm 15 contacts with themercury of the mercury annulus, current will fiow in the circuitincluding lead 25, brush 12, lead 27, brush 21, coil and lead 24. Thiscurrent is a loss. Its value depends on the resistance of the coils 31and 30, and the coil 31 will preferably have a high resistance whichdoes not interfere seriously with the performance of its function inpreserving the continuity of current flow, since a very small current isall that is necessary. The apparatus, however, will-operate with anyresistance which is commercially practical. The preponderance of currentin one direction flowing through the coils will make it almost uselessto use iron cores, as they will be saturated and the resistance of anair transformer will be high on account of the number of turns required.

When the circuit is broken by the contact contact with the mercury, themagnetic flux in the transformer begins to fall and a voltage isimmediately induced in the winding 31, which furnishes the current tothe wire 28. As soon as the contact arm 15 enters the mercury the ourthewire 30 and falls to zero or below in the wire 31. When utilizing thisdevice as an alternating current rectifier, the shaft a may be drivenfrom the alternating current enerator or by a synchronous motor. lf itis desired to transmit the altrrnatingl current any distance beforeitxis rectified t e shaft d wlll be driven by a synchronous motor 32. V7

When it is desired. to transform direct contact 15, brush 11,

.move into and out of the current into a fiat-top-curve alternatingcurrent, the operation as above outlined is reversed; the transformer orchoke-coil is omitted and the leads 26 and 28 are connected to thesource of the direct current supply as shown in Fig. 1. The leads 24 and25 then become the distributing leads for the alternating current. Thespeed of the transformer may be varied in accordance with the number ofalternations in the current desired, or the shaft 13 ma be provided withmore than two arms an the commutator provided with a correspondingnumber of bars. A corresponding construcr tion may be utilized inchanging alternating current to direct.

In the construction shown the contact arms 15 and 16 are of such alength and are so positioned relative to the commutator bars that theybreak contact with the mercury in advance of the break between the brushand the commutator bar. Under these conditions the sparking istransferred from the commutator to the interrupter.

When it is desired to use the interrupter or circuit breakerindependently the wires 25 and26 are omitted, the commutator is doneaway with and the brushes 11 and 23 are positioned as shown in Fig. 5,the brush 11 hearing on the mercury container which is in constantelectrical contact with the mercury. Current then enters the circuitthrough the wire 24, the brush 11 and is transmitted to the mercuryannulus through the metal casing 8. From the mercury ,annulus thecurrent is transmitted through the shaft 13, the slip-ring 22 and thebrush 23 to the wire 28.

In converting direct current to alternating it may be found desirable,because of the high temperatures encountered at the arc, to utilize afusible metal in the chamber 6, and in such cases the metal will have tobe melted before the device is started.

Many and various modifications may be made in this apparatus withoutdeparting from the spirit of this invention, as the same is consideredgeneric.

Having thus described my invention, l'claim as new is:.

1. A current interrupter comprising a rotatable casing, a conductingliquid annulus sustained within the casing by centrifugal force andforming a terminal of the interrupter, a contact agent'forrning aterminal of the interrupter, and pliant imperforate means for sealingthe casing and for connecting the contact agent to the casing.

2. A current interrupter comprising a rotatable casing, a conductingliquid annulus sustained within the casing by centrifugal force andforming a terminal of the interrupter, a rotatable contact agent forminga terminal'cf the interrupter and adapted to what liquid annulus duriing its rotation, and a pliant cover for the casing connecting thecontact agent to the casing. v

3. A current interrupter comprising a rotatable casing, a conductingliquid annulus sustained within the casing by centrifugal force andforming a terminal of the interrupter, a rotatable contact agent forminga terminal of the interrupter and adapted to move into and out of theannulus during its rotation, a flexible cover for the casing throughwhich said contact agent projects, and means for securing the cover tothe contact agent.

4. In a current interrupter a rotatable casing, a conducting liquidannulus sustained within the casing by centrifugal force and forming aterminal of the interrupter, a rota'ta-ble contact agent formin aterminal of the interrupter and adapte to move into and out of saidliquid annulus, a liant cover for the casing through which said agentprojects, means for rigidly securing the agent to the cover, means forrigidly securing the cover to the casing, a circuit carrying a varyingcurrent, and means for rotating the casing and the agent synchronouslywith the current variations.

5. In combination in a current interrupter, a rotatable casing, amercury annulus sustained within said casing by centrifugal force andforming a terminal of the interrupter, a contact agent operativelyconnected to said casing and adapted to move into and out of contactwith said annulus and in synchronism with the current to be converted.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 9th day ofOctober, 1905.

ALEXANDER T. KASLEY.

Witnesses:

DAVID WILLIAMS, G. L. RYDER.

